Ellis Bird Farm ‘coping’ after COVID-19 leads to disappointing start to season

Ellis Bird Farm is hoping to open within the next month after a disappointing start to their 2020 season due to COVID-19.

Executive Director Myrna Pearman said they have been coping with having to cancel their events through the summer, but want to open the site in order to allow people to enjoy the beauty of the farm.

“As the summer progresses, we will see how we may be able to hold small gatherings or small events. We will see how that goes,” she said.

When people do arrive on the site, Pearman said they can look forward to a new special guest.

“We have been fostering an orphan owl here. That has been a very popular thing online,” she said.

The farm is currently fundraising for new webcam system so that people in central Alberta and all over the world can enjoy the owl.

“We continue to fundraise for the webcam. Donations are gratefully accepted at anytime,” she said.

Guests will also see increased numbers of Bluebirds at the farm.

“Things are looking good. Our Bluebird numbers seem to be higher than last year and our Purple Martins are still coming in, so we are not sure what the final numbers will be. Things look good despite a miserable spring in terms of weather,” she said.

Pearman was also able to set up additional programming for teachers and parents in the region.

“We reached out to all the teachers to see what we could do. Now that it is spring, we are looking to provide additional resources to teachers and parents so they can do nature-based activities at home,” she said.

Pearman encourages central Albertans to log on their website and also subscribe to their social media channels in order to stay up to date with the happenings at the farm.

“We are doing lots of exciting things in terms of research and projects. We will keep everyone updated. If and when we are able to open, people will love Ellis Bird Farm even more because there will be even more nodes and venues,” she said.